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The Auster – Warpaint #131 In British Military & Foreign Air Arm Service Guideline Publications The origin of the Auster comes from the War Ministry’s need for an aerial observation aircraft during the British rearmament efforts in the run-up to WWII. They turned to a small company called Taylorcraft Aviation, who were based in Leicester in the UK, and quickly put together the initial design for this lightweight aircraft. The design was simple, and was manufactured in two separate locations at Thurmaston, to be completed at a nearby aerodrome, where they were also tested before being handed over to their customer. Over 1,500 were made there and in Canada for the role, with several updates to the design to improve its performance, aerodynamics and even enlarging the size of the windows to provide better situational awareness, which was key to enable the crew to watch fall of shot as well as keeping a watchful eye on the skies above for incoming enemy fighters, against which the little aircraft would stand no chance. After the war many returned to civilian service, and other variants popped up before the company was bought by Beagle Aviation, which marked a change to the naming of the variants, and eventually the end of the type’s run. There are still a number of them in the skies today, one of which makes appearances at Duxford air shows if I remember correctly. The book by author Adrian M Balch is in the usual Warpaint format of portrait A4(ish) with a soft card cover but has an increased page count from the norm and utilises a perfect binding instead of the usual pair of staples to accommodate the total of 60 pages plus content printed on the four sides of the glossy covers, and includes plans in 1:72, penned by Sam Pearson. A short section details the birth of the type, then the subsequent variants and history carries on throughout the book, incorporating a summary of the operators and locations of service, which included the Antarctic as probably the most esoteric. Many of the photos are previously unseen, having come from private collections of the author and a few others. The pages include a lot of useful pictures with informative captions of aircraft on the apron, on the field, in the air, during trials, crashed upside-down on a glacier and under maintenance with panels missing, plus appropriate airframe photos dotted around, but in this book the majority of the photos are of the aircraft, rather than its engineering and maintenance. The Profiles section shows the range of schemes that the type was painted, including some of the later AOP variants in more vibrant schemes. The "In Detail" section has some numbered close-up photos with matching captions providing excellent information that will be a boon to modellers as well as people that just like to know what everything does. My favourite variant is the ugly one of course, which is the one-off conversion to an air ambulance that could also be used to drop medical supplies if needed, with photos of it doing just that, as well as how they managed to fit two stretcher cases and a nurse into the peculiar boxy frame. Conclusion The Warpaint series always gets a thumbs-up due to their consistent quality. This is an excellent book that will see plenty of use by anyone interest in, or in building this “WWII and beyond” Forward Air Control aircraft that did a lot more than it was originally intended for. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of